
Dora Tan
Head of Sale, Specialist
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Sold for US$3,187.50 inc. premium
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Head of Sale, Specialist

International Director
Seated cross-legged on a lotus with the assistance of a yoga band supporting his left knee, a mendicant's staff resting across him, and imparting the mudra of teaching with his right hand while proffering a bound religious manuscript with his left, this enigmatic sculpture almost certainly represents one of South India's bhakti saints. The modelling of his cross-legged posture is quite exemplary and the lotus petals are most expressive, suggesting the bronze is perhaps from Kerala.
Provenance:
Estate of David Swope
Stair Galleries, Hudson, 17 May 2019, lot 49
Please note the sculpture depicts Ramanuja (c.1017–1137 CE), the eminent South Indian philosopher, theologian, and social reformer.